Tobe Hooper:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator:

Hooper, Tobe, 1943-2017

Title:

Tobe Hooper Papers

Dates:

1941–1983 (bulk 1967–1975)

Extent:

9 document boxes (3.78 linear feet), 6 oversize boxes (osb)

Abstract:

The Tobe Hooper Papers document the
creation of director, writer, and producer Tobe Hooper's first feature-length films,
Eggshells and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The
Papers include production notes, publicity documents, photographs, negatives, slides,
clippings, serials, and props along with other professional and personal
materials.

Director, writer, and producer Tobe Hooper was born in Austin, Texas, on January 25,
1943.
Hooper's parents were hotel managers who also owned a movie theatre in San Angelo,
Texas,
and Hooper became a fan of the cinema at a young age. He studied film at the University
of
Texas at Austin, and his early films included the short Heisters (circa 1963-1965) and documentaries on education (A Way of Learning, circa 1967), the demolition of a neighborhood
home in Austin (Down Friday Street, circa 1970), and the folk group
Peter, Paul, and Mary (circa 1970).

His first feature-length film was Eggshells: An American Freak
Illumination (1970), an independent production that Hooper wrote and directed.
Filmed in Austin, Eggshells was a mix of fantasy and reality aimed at
the "bohemian segments of our society." The film won a gold award at the 1971 Atlanta
International Film Festival.

Kim Henkel, a co-star in Eggshells under the pseudonym
Boris Schnurr, would go on to collaborate with Hooper on his next film. Hooper and
Henkel
co-wrote a script loosely inspired by the story of the Wisconsin grave robber and
murderer
Ed Gein. Filmed with the working title "Leatherface," the movie would ultimately be
called
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hooper directed the low-budget
production, which was filmed on a compressed schedule outside of Austin in 1973. It
was
distributed by Bryanston Pictures, and although commercially successful, the film's
release
was marred by financial disputes. Initially receiving mixed critical reviews, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was screened at the 1975 Director's
Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and has become an influential classic of the
horror
genre.

Hooper's long career in film and television since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre includes the critically acclaimed film
Poltergeist (1982), the television adaptation of Salem's Lot (1979), and the sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986).

The Tobe Hooper Papers (1941–1983, bulk 1967–1975) document the creation of Hooper's
first
feature-length films, Eggshells and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Hooper Papers include production
notes, publicity materials, photographs, negatives, slides, clippings, serials, and
props
related to the creation of these films. The collection also contains other personal
and
professional documents, including correspondence, materials from the 1975 Cannes Film
Festival, and foreign film posters. The timespan documented in this collection is
limited
and does not encompass the entirety of Hooper's lifelong career in the film and television
industry. The Papers are divided into three series: I. Films, 1970-1975, 1982, undated;
II.
Career and Personal, 1967–1983, undated; and III. Serials, 1941, 1966–1977.

The Hooper Papers, which were previously contained in a storage unit, arrived at the
Harry
Ransom Center with no discernable organization, arrangement, or (with one exception)
labeled
files. The collection was organized at the Ransom Center by subject, format, and importance,
with items related directly to Eggshells and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre separated from other professional and
personal materials. All file titles (other than folder 2.9, where Hooper's title was
retained) have been created by the Ransom Center.

Series I. Films is divided into two subseries: A. Eggshells, 1970-1971, undated; and
B. The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1973-1975, 1982, undated. Subseries A. Eggshells contains
production notes, film stills, slides, and publicity materials, along with a program
and
poster from the 1971 Atlanta International Film Festival. Subseries B. The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre includes production notes, publicity materials, photographs, negatives, slides,
clippings, and props. Some documents in Series II. Career and Personal are also related
to
the production of Eggshells and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and serials with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre articles and advertisements are located
in the Serials and Publications series.

Series II. Career and Personal is divided into four subseries: A. Professional Papers,
1967–1975, undated; B. Screenplays by Others, 1973-1975, undated; C. Cannes International
Film Festival, 1975; and D. Personal, 1972-1974, undated.

Subseries A. Professional Papers contains career-related documents, including
correspondence, slides, scrapbooks, and foreign film posters. The correspondence folder
includes letters related to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
which is also documented in this subseries with other materials, as is Eggshells.

Subseries B. Screenplays by Others contains eleven screenplays in alphabetical order
by the
name of the writer.

Subseries C. Cannes International Film Festival contains publications and publicity
materials from the 1975 festival. Although The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was
screened at the Director's Fortnight, there are no documents in this collection that
relate
directly to this screening.

Subseries D. Personal contains documents, negatives, and photographs along with other
materials that are not directly related to Hooper's career.

Series III. Serials, 1941, 1966–1977, contains newspapers and magazines, some of which
reference Hooper or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. These materials are in
alphabetical order by title then by date. Some publications are incomplete.

The archive was purchased at auction and donated to the Harry Ransom Center.

The Ransom Center holds the papers of Warren Skaaren, the first executive director
of the
Texas Film Commission, who played an important role in the production of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Skaaren's papers include a screenplay
for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

More than 950 moving image items and associated sound recordings documenting Eggshells and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and
Hooper's Peter, Paul, and Mary documentary, education project, and other commercial
and
documentary work were transferred to the Center's Moving Image and Sound Recordings
Collections.

A Leatherface mask from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was
transferred to the Costume Collection. Access to the mask is restricted for preservation
purposes and available only with curatorial permission.

Savage Cinema by Rick Trader Witcombe (Bounty Books, 1975) was
transferred to the Ransom Center Library. The book includes a brief commentary on
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.